Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dipped 0.7% to close under $1,734 as higher inflation an upbeat Beige Book lifted Treasury yields, undercutting alternative stores of value.

Import prices surged 1.2% in March as demand for goods and services outstripped supply, adding to consumer inflation. The cost of imports has jumped nearly 7% over the last 12 months, the fastest pace in more than eight years.

Treasury yields edged higher on the inflation data, pressuring gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset. Expectations of higher prices spur bond traders to sell lower-yielding securities as they demand higher returns to tie up money that will erode in future value.

The Fed's Beige Book reported the economy grew faster in the early spring, with economic activity accelerating to a "moderate pace" as companies rehired and consumers received stimulus checks from the Biden relief package.

Gold's slide was backstop by a weaker dollar, which retreated 0.2% to a three-week low after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed will begin tapering its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases well in advance of raising interest rates. A weaker dollar supports gold by making it less expensive overseas.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver and platinum adding 0.4% and 1.8%, respectively, while palladium dropped 0.7%.

At the Comex close: June gold dropped $11.30 to $1,736.30; May silver added a dime, to $25.52; July platinum picked up $20.30 to $1,177.40; and June palladium fell $17.50 to $2,679.40 an ounce.